Crocodile Tears
by Who Died of Ennui
Summary: An odd tale of betrayal and perhaps love. What is Hermione's motive in this slightly new behavior of hers? R&R, please. :COMPLETED:
1. Prologue

Prologue

Hermione Granger awoke with a start, trying to determine whether the noise she had just heard was real or dreamed. She had been dreaming of Draco Malfoy... and all of a sudden there had been a loud creak, as of floorboards.

Standing up, she turned on the light and peered around the room. There was nothing there. Nothing was out of place, and although it was a bit chilly for summer, everything else was just as it should be on a quiet evening in a Muggle suburb just south of London. Shaking her head at her nervous behavior, Hermione lay back down, and immediately fell asleep again.

A shadow materialized, a tall, thin shadow, and pointed its wand at her. If there had been anyone around, they might have heard it whisper a word that could be recognized as that of the Imperius Curse, that illegal spell that was cast to put a person completely under another's control.

Hermione shifted in her sleep, and murmured something. The shadow crept away, leaving the house to its quiet, ordinary rest.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Oy! You with the glasses!" called a voice, carrying clearly through the crisp autumn air.

Harry Potter turned. Loping towards him, grinning maniacally, was his friend Ron Weasley.

"Hello, Ron," said Harry glumly. "Have you seen Hermione?"

"Yes, we're to meet her over at Flourish and Blott's."

They walked off in the bookstore's direction. It was the last day of August, and the day before they would have to take the train back to Hogwarts. As always, they had met up in Diagon Alley to buy supplies for school and to catch up on each other's lives.

Harry, as he walked along, was mulling over the events of the past few months. Now everyone knew Voldemort had risen again, but what would the incompetent Ministry do about it? And Sirius was gone, gone forever... Harry was alone...

Pondering these depressing thoughts, he was completely unprepared for the compact amount of young woman that flung itself at him, knocking him to the ground and flinging up a cloud of dust around them. He unconsciously reached for his wand, but froze when he looked over at his attacker's face, and saw, through the dust, that she was Hermione.

He sprang to his feet, and held out a hand to help her up. She took it, and he pulled her to her feet.

"Sorry, Harry!" she gushed, brushing dust off her clothing. "I guess you weren't expecting that."

"Hermione," said Ron weakly. "You look... different."

And indeed she did. Her normally bushy hair was straight and shiny, as they has seen it only once before, at the Yule Ball almost two years ago. She was wearing rather revealing Muggle clothes, proving once and for all that she did have a figure.

"Do I look all right?" she said anxiously. "I thought it might be time for a change, and, well, er..." She gestured vaguely at herself.

"Oh-- oh, you look fine, Hermione," said Harry, with great sincerity.

She smiled at him. There was something about her, Harry thought. Maybe it was the new appearance, but she seemed unusually happy, and much more mature.

She was like a whole new person.

Chatting politely, the three wandered off into Diagon Alley.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

_author's note: forgive the deplorable attempt at imitating Fleur's accent._

The next day, bright and early, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ron's sister Ginny left the Leaky Cauldron, where they had been staying, and drove in the Weasleys' car to King's Cross Station. Once there, they walked to the familiar wall between Platforms 9 and 10, and passed through to Platform 9 3/4 with no trouble.

After being hugged fiercely by Mrs. Weasley, they boarded the train and found an empty compartment. Soon, they were joined by Neville Longbottom and assorted others from the D.A. that they had started last year. Harry basked in the incessant chatter of his friends, staring into space and feeling sorry for himself, but feeling vaguely glad that he not being forced to talk.

About two hours into the train ride, he noticed Hermione signaling to him. Once she saw that she had his attention, she inclined her head towards the door to the corridor outside, and stood up. He uncertainly followed her out of the compartment and over to a corner of the train car.

"What's all this about?" he asked her. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

"Harry, I just wanted to ask you--" She broke off, blushing. "I just wanted to tell you-- I'm going to sound like a total prat, but--"

"Go on, Hermione. It's all right," he reassured her vaguely.

"Oh, Harry! God, what can I say? I... I really like you. Really. And I wanted to know... I wanted to ask... what are your feelings towards me?"

He blinked. Then a smile began to form on his face. "Hermione, I really like you too. If you mean what you said, would you--"

After he had confirmed his affection, she had giggled. And now she leaned forward, kissing him clumsily and cutting off his sentence.

"Yes, I would," she said. They embraced, pressing close to each other. Harry could feel her heartbeat.

"I've been waiting so long for this moment..." he began.

"I have, too," she said, her voice very sweet but with a slight edge of impatience. "But we.. not to end this moment, but the others will be wondering... we should go back."

"Yes," he said. "Separately, to avoid questions?"

She nodded, and he walked unsteadily back to the compartment. She watched him go, smiling to herself and poking something on her upper arm. Then, after a few minutes, she returned to the compartment, and the journey to Hogwarts continued.

* * *

Just as the sun set behind the mountains, the train pulled into Hogsmeade station. Harry nudged Hermione to wake her up, for she had fallen asleep against his shoulder. 

She woke, and she, Harry, and Ron exited the train and began walking towards the carriages that would carry them to the school. Suddenly, Ron jumped about five feet in the air, and said, stuttering, "Th-there're horses there! There weren't horses before."

"Ron, calm down. They've been there all along, but you couldn't see them because they're thestrals," said Harry.

"What?"

"Don't bother trying to explain, Harry," said Hermione, her eyes gleaming oddly. "He's Ron! He wouldn't understand." She took Harry's hand and pulled him ahead of Ron towards the carriages.

Ron glanced at the thestrals, and then hurried to catch up with his two very best friends.

At the feast that night, Albus Dumbledore stood up to make his welcome-back speech. "As all of you must know by now, Lord Voldemort has risen again, and this has been acknowledged by the Ministry officials. They, I am sure, are doing all they can to solve this problem." There was a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "But that is not enough. We must stay together, and we must stay alert..."

Ron, over the noise of Dumbledore's inspirational words, whispered, "When, I ask you, do we get to eat?" Hermione rolled her eyes at Harry, and Ron fell into a dejected silence.

"... but let me close on a more cheerful note. We have a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher... the lovely Fleur Delacour!"

There was wild applause, a good deal of it from Ron.

Fleur stood up. "Bonjour. I am vairy pleazed to be here as youhhr new teacher. And I hope we'll all get along ant learn much togethair!"

There was more applause. She sat back down, and, to Ron's delight, the plates filled magically with food. Ron buried himself in a pile of palatable comestibles.

"Er, Hermione," said Harry. "Look how happy Ron is -- he's got Fleur back and food, good food!" He laughed uncertainly. Hermione glanced at him in a way that suggested she thought he was a complete idiot, but then she too burst into enthusiastic laughter.

"Good food... very good! Hahaha..." she giggled. Harry looked gratified.

When the feast was over, they walked up endless flights of rearranging staircases. Finally, they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady. Hermione said the password, and the Lady, smiling welcomingly, swung to let them into the Gryffindor common room.

Almost immediately, Ron said, "Well, I think I'm going to turn in. It's been a long day." He stood there awkwardly for a moment, as if waiting for Harry or Hermione to try and implore him to stay, before walking up the staircase to his dormitory.

"What a wet blanket," said Hermione.

"Yeah..." said Harry.

They say down in chairs by the fire, and talked of this and that for a few hours. Then, they kissed goodnight and went their separate ways.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Harry was walking along a dimly lit corridor. Suddenly, he heard footsteps. Not knowing why, he ducked behind a cold marble pillar. Seconds later, Hermione and Ron came into view, Ron running after Hermione purposefully. Harry tried to jump out from behind the pillar, but something was holding him back. He watched helplessly as Ron assaulted Hermione, tearing off her robes and shouting "food! good food!" Harry tried to move forward again, unsuccessfully, and then turned to see what was holding him back. It was Voldemort. A cold shock of horror ran through his body as Harry perceived this, and he punched at him vainly, to no effect. Behind him, he heard Hermione scream. But now he could not turn around, either, so he was stuck staring into Voldemort's face that was as full of emotion as a corpse's. Harry struggled, fought to get away, but he could not move, he could not breathe. Hermione screamed, again, and Harry, thrashing in Voldemort's arms, finally blacked out. And woke up.

He grabbed his glasses and put them on. His sheets appeared to have landed on Seamus's head, on the other side of the room. Ron was staring at him.

"Harry, are you all right? Was it another dream about Y-- about V-Voldemort?" asked Ron anxiously.

"Yes, it was, Ron," said Harry coldly. "Now leave me alone. I'm going back to sleep."

He turned on his side, and stared at the wall. Could it be true? Could Ron really be after Hermione?

He had convinced himself of it, now. His dreams had given him forewarning before, and he knew it.

l----------l

"Ron?" said Hermione.

He was standing outside the Charms classroom, waiting until it was time for his next class. "Yes?" he said.

"Would you come here, please? I have a surprise for you," she declared, smiling mysteriously.

"Yes, sure." He grinned. She walked off towards the courtyard, and he followed curiously.

Once they neared an obscure corner of the courtyard, she stopped, and called out, "Accio mysterious package!" A package flew into her hands, and she handed it to him. "I thought you might like this, seeing how you're the Gryffindor Keeper and all..."

He unwrapped it, and gasped. It was a nice new broom. Not a Firebolt, but what appeared to be a slightly cheaper foreign-made copy. It was streamlined, and shone in the morning sunlight. The name "Bolllt of Fireplace" appeared near the end of the handle.

"Wow... er, thanks, Hermione! It's wonderful! But why?"

"I just know I've been a bit sharp with you lately. And this is sort of a way of saying sorry. Try it out, why don't you?"

Ron mounted the broom. He looked incredibly happy, and seemed to revel in the sudden glory of their friendship.

Without warning, the broom flew straight up, and then over the school walls, Ron clinging onto it for dear life. Hermione watched as the broom flew slowly downwards, and then paused in midair for a moment before dropping straight down into the Forbidden Forest. There was a faint yell from Ron, which faded away. Then all was silence once again.

Hermione hummed to herself, and then poked her arm with one slender finger.

Harry came into the courtyard, looking around, and, having spotted her, walked over to where she was standing.

"Hello, Hermione. I thought I saw Ron over here..."

"What? No, he wasn't here," she said confidently. "I think you need to clean those glasses of yours more often." She reached over, removing his glasses. He took this as an invitation to attempt to kiss her passionately, which he did. She resisted slightly, prompting him to push her against the wall in order to take advantage of his new position as demonstrative boyfriend.

After what seemed like hours to her, a bell sounded, signaling that it was time to go to their next classes. She broke away, gasping for breath. He waved cheerily at her and rushed off.

She watched him go, glowering. She touched a finger to her arm, and muttered to herself, "Tom, enough now..."


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

There was a notice posted all over the school. It read:

Have you seen

Ronald Weasley?

last seen Tuesday,

during the second class period

in the Charms classroom.

Although one could not walk down a hallway without seeing at least a hundred of these, no clues turned up as to his whereabouts. So Dumbledore organized a search. And two days after the search began, he was found.

He was floating face down in a small stream that fed into the lake. Nobody knew how he got there or how he had died, for there was no trace of foul play except that he was dead. Professor Sprout remarked that a few leaves still stuck to the back of his robes were from a tree that only grows in the Forbidden Forest, but nobody listens to a botanist. So his death remained a mystery.

Overnight, the missing person flyers disappeared. People discussed the circumstances of his death with a sort of morbid curiosity, for a few weeks, and then the bizarre occurrence was all but forgotten. Almost all but forgotten.

Hermione did not forget. She mourned for him publicly. Very rarely in the weeks following his death was she seen to smile.

"He was my dearest friend," Hermione was overheard telling Parvati Patil. "I could never forget him."

The person who overheard this smirked to himself. He knew the truth. She was faking all of this staggering grief, he was sure of it. Once Parvati had departed, moved to tears by Hermione's lamentatory, loving description of the deceased Ron, the listener stepped out from a doorway.

"Hello, Granger," he said lazily.

"Hello, Draco. Malfoy, I mean."

He raised an eyebrow. "Getting a bit more personal with me, are you, in that clever mind of yours?"

"Of course not, idiot boy," she snapped. "What do you want?"

"I want to know why you're pretending you ever cared about Ron."

"I did. And I do."

"Granger, I'm asking you this with all due seriousness. Why are you weeping crocodile tears for him? In the same way as a crocodile would weep for his lunch, if I'm not mistaken."

"No matter how cleverly you shroud that outrageous accusation in fancy metaphors, you're not going to get me to confess to anything," she said softly. "Not that there's anything to confess to. I really don't know what you mean by all this, Malfoy..."

"Oh, you know what I mean," he said happily. "See you around, Granger."

She glared at the retreating form. "Bitch. What does he think he knows about anything?"

She felt arms wrap around her waist. "Was he giving you trouble? Let me know if he ever does," said Harry, directly into her ear. She resisted the urge to slap him.

Instead, she giggled and said, "Oh, hi, Harry. Yes, thanks, I'm all right."

She rushed away. As she ran, she poked her arm, and yelled, "Tomorrow! Damn it, tomorrow!"


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 (and the last)

The next day, Hermione came up with a bright idea, which she suggested to Harry over breakfast.

"Say, Harry, what d'you say we go on a picnic today? Since we have no classes, and we'll still have tomorrow to get all our homework done. It might be fun!"

"OK," he said. "Let's."

So it passed that, a few hours later, he found himself walking alongside Hermione, carrying a picnic basket. She was leading the way.

"Where are we going, good Miss?" he asked teasingly.

"You'll see." She smiled secretively.

Finally, they reached the edge of the Forbidden Forest. "We're not going in there, are we?" he asked nervously.

"Oh, I thought it might be fun. You know, it's... forbidden. Sort of reminds me of some other things that are forbidden, you know? And besides, we certainly won't be disturbed."

Harry grinned from ear to ear, thinking of the possibilities. Hermione continued walking until she reached a clearing in the forest, where she sat down on a large rock and motioned fro Harry to do the same.

Then, she prodded at her upper arm and looked off into the forest expectantly.

And suddenly, about fifty people stepped out of the trees, surrounding Harry and Hermione.

"Wh-what?" said Harry, jumping to his feet.

Hermione, too, got to her feet. but she was not startled. She instead said, simply, "Tom, what in seven putrid hells kept you so long?"

A tall figure stepped out from behind her, and said, "I am sorry, Hermione." It was Voldemort.

"Hermione! What?" cried Harry.

She turned to him. "Let me explain it to you, Harry, in a way perhaps even your small brain can grasp. But first let's have you secured." She snapped her fingers, and four of the Death Eaters -- for Harry now recognized that that was who they were -- rushed forward and roped Harry to the rock. "Now... where to begin?" she continued. "Well, this summer, my pal Tom here appeared in by bedroom and attempted to put the Imperius curse on me. I fought it off, easily -- that practice with the D.A. last year actually helped me in that respect, at least. When Tom found that his Imperius curse had been broken by me, he came to try and subdue me. But I duelled him, and won." She looked at Voldemort, raised her wand, muttered something, and he, after a moment, kneeled to her.

"You've conquered Voldemort? Oh, good show, Hermione!" cried Harry.

"You don't understand, Harry. I haven't conquered him, at least in the sense you mean. I have... joined him as Dark Lord. Now both of us are in control, and together we are supremely invincible."

"What?"

"Did you really think I was pure good? Oh, no, Harry, I'm far too intelligent not to take advantage of an opportunity to help myself. And doing this offers a tidy return in way of revenge."

Her words chilled Harry to the bone. "Revenge? On... on whom?"

She smiled humorlessly. "On everybody. I told you that I am smart enough to take control of a situation when it would help me out in some way, yes? Well, let me tell you about why I would want to do this. Have you ever realized that all these years I've known you, both you and Ron have done nothing but alternately sponge off me and insult me for being the sort of studious person you could sponge off of? Now Ron is dead, by my orders--"

"Your orders? Hermione-- it can't be-- how could you kill Ron? I mean, he was your friend, our friend! How could you? You-- I saw you with him just before he disappeared! I told you-- but you lied to me and said my eyes were deceiving me, and I believed you!" Harry shouted.

"Lying is not the worst I've done, believe you me. And if a person can't see that he is being fooled, then he deserves what he gets. I mean, in your case... Do you think I would ever fall in love with a scrawny, arrogant, angst-filled little bugger like you? No, of course not! And yet you believed me. And I tolerated your foolish love, biding my time. I had to, in order to eventually lure you to a place that will, in fact, be your final resting place. And--"

She broke off. Harry, tied as he was to the rock, had lashed out with one foot and kicked her weakly in the shin.

She didn't even wince. Rather, she said coolly," Very clever, Harry. I suppose you take such" she smiled cheerfully, "_desperate_ measures because you realize that I am going to dispose of you quite soon. Very clever indeed."

"I challenge you to a duel!" he cried.

"No, Harry dear," she said gently. "I don't have that insane sense of tradition and honor that Tom-- Voldemort, to you-- seems to have. You don't deserve a fair chance, like he has given you multiple times before. You deserve to die. And you will."

She rolled up the sleeves of her robes, and Harry saw, on her upper arm, the Dark Mark tattooed there, a design in the ... _darkest_ black Harry had ever seen.

"My God, you're serious..." Harry whispered.

"Of course I'm bloody serious!" she snapped. "What, do you think I invited the Dark Lord Voldemort and all his Death Eaters here today just to play a jolly little prank on you?"

"No, of course not. But... but always know, Hermione, that I love you, and you're my best friend who I have left in the world now." Harry's eyes began to fill up with tears in a pitiable way.

There was a long pause.

Then, Hermione said, "Oh, really." She raised her wand, pointing it directly at Harry's heart. "_Avada Kedavra_," she said calmly.

There was a flash of green light.

The End


End file.
